The invention relates to a harvesting device for harvesting corn or a similar stalky crop wherein the harvesting device (harvester) comprises at least one intake and conveying device with a circulating endless conveyor having outwardly oriented functional elements such as cutting and/or holding and conveying elements that form at least one lower cutting plane and at least one holding plane arranged above. The endless conveyor conveys the harvested crop to an inlet opening of a processing device, in particular, a crop chopper. In the supply area, where the harvested crop is supplied to the inlet opening of the processing device, a stripping device is provided which is comprised of at least two clearing elements each forming a stripping surface. The clearing elements are connected with their rear area by means of support means to a holder.
Such a harvester, provided especially as an attachment for a mobile processing device, in particular, a crop chopper, serves for cutting, receiving, and transferring corn plants, for example, to a crop chopping device.
Such harvesters are known in various configurations. For example, German letters patent 199 52 566 C1 of the assignee discloses a harvester which is advantageously suitable for harvesting stalky crop by employing a large working width and, in this connection, is characterized in particular by a constructive expenditure as little as possible and thus also by minimal weight. In this connection, the harvester is preferably configured with two intake and conveying devices that comprise endless conveyors oriented in regard to their longest extension approximately transversely to the traveling and working direction and comprised of conveying and guiding elements that are connected pivotably in series to one another. In order to provide for safe receiving and guiding actions of the stalky crop, the conveying and guiding elements are divided into at least two conveying and guiding planes that are positioned at a spacing above one another. Drivers are arranged in these conveying and guiding planes, and the drivers, as a function of the conveying and guiding plane, respectively, either take on the function of a counter blade and, in this way, a mowing and cutting device is formed in cooperation with a stationary cutting blade that is arranged underneath the conveying and guiding elements, or they take on the function of a holder for reliably guiding and holding the stalky crop when transferring the crop into a processing device of the type of a chopping device of a crop chopper.
The transfer of the plant stalks from the endless conveyor to the processing device is a particularly critical task in such harvesters. On the one hand, the holding and guiding elements must securely hold stalky crop safely and convey it to the transfer area, on the other hand, in the transfer area an unimpaired complete transfer from the endless conveyor to the processing device must be ensured in order to prevent clogging.
In German letters patent 199 52 566 C1 a solution of this problems is proposed in the form of a stripping device that ensures unimpeded material transfer by means of its configuration with openings between the clearing elements and the holders of the stripping device positioned at a spacing thereto, which openings form lateral passages for removing crop that can no longer be taken up and would collect in front of the intake opening and clog the intake opening if not removed.
When using the device in the field, it was found that, under difficult harvesting conditions and when the plants are wet, at the edges of the clearing elements and in the area of the holders of the stripping device residual crop will collect and possibly impede the transfer and the crop flow in this way.